Gold Star parents would have access to retail and commissary privileges under a bill filed by Rep. William Keating, according to a news release Thursday from the congressman's office.

Currently, those benefits are only available to spouses and children, the representative said.

The legislation is the result of multiple conversations between Keating and two local families whose children were killed in service to the country, he said. The families are not identified in the news release.

"Granting Gold Star parents access to retail and commissary benefits will serve as a symbol of our nation's commitment to honoring all those who have selflessly devoted themselves to protecting our freedom," said Keating, the grandson of a Gold Star mother.

"Although we will never be able to diminish the sense of sorrow Gold Star parents must feel, it is my hope that this measure of gratitude will provide them with a small level of comfort this Memorial Day weekend," he said.

Jean Pierre Trahan of Freetown, the father of Navy Petty Officer Second Class Tyler J. Trahan, who was killed in Iraq in 2009, went public in July of last year, calling on the U.S. government to extend commissary privileges as well as health benefits to Gold Star parents.

"I think it's the right thing to do for our heroes," he said at the time.